Please help me b/c our Ped does NOT.

I had so many questions today at LO's 6 month appt and the ped. just kept responding with "it's a personal choice" no matter how many times or ways I asked about starting solids. What foods do you start with and how long should she be on level one etc? She answered NOTHING for me. Can you please just tell me the process you did yourself...

Comments (11)

We started rice cereal at about 4 month, then we went to apples for several weeks, then we tried carrots, pears, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, bananas, peaches, peas..... We have done each food for about three days without introducing any 2 new food together. Now she eats all of them except the peaches. We are moving on to level 2 now and adding meats....We dropped rice cereal shortly after we started the carrots, it blocked her up. Our pediatrician said as long as it's enjoyable for her, then keep progressing. She also said when DD has had enough she will stop eating. Good luck

Thats basically what my pedi said too, but we started a while ago. He said it was really up to me and see how the baby did/felt about it and go from there. He said we could go once a day or three times a day, start with cereal, and after that any stage 1s are fine...fruit or veggie doesn't matter. You can give it before bottle, after bottle, in-between bottles, mealtimes, whichever is easiest (we do before bottle). Like many have said, its not really about what/how much they eat right now, its just to introduce them to it. They won't be losing/gaining anything by not eating it at a certain time or eating a certain amount. So really, "its a personal choice" LOL

I am still BFing but started Seb on food about 2 weeks ago. I started with Oatmeal because he is a once a week pooper. Last week I added sweet potatoes, then bananas, peas, and yesterday I made butternut squash. I making all of his food so level 1 is based on how long I blend the food...

He only eats "solid" food about 1 or 2 times a day (depending on when I get home from work or how busy we are)...

i started with sweet potatoes... here's some helpful info from the AAP:

When your infant is able to sit independently and grab for things to put in her mouth, it’s time to begin introducing solid foods. Start with simple, basic foods such as rice cereal. You should add breast milk or warm formula to the cereal, mixing about 1 tablespoon of cereal with every 4 to 5 tablespoons of breast milk. Look for infant cereals that are fortified with iron, which can provide about 30% to 45% of your infant’s daily iron needs. About midway through the first year, her natural stores of iron will have become depleted, so extra iron is a good idea.

Here are some additional recommendations to keep in mind.

Introduce your baby to other solid foods gradually. Good initial choices are other simple cereals, such as oatmeal, as well as vegetables and fruits. Most pediatricians recommend offering vegetables before offering fruits.

Start these new foods one at a time, at intervals of every 2 to 3 days. This approach will allow your infant to become used to the taste and texture of each new food. It can also help you identify any food sensitivities or allergies that may develop as each new food is started. Some pediatricians advise introducing wheat and mixed cereals last because young babies could have allergic reactions to them. Contact your doctor if symptoms (for example, diarrhea, vomiting, rash) develop that seem to be related to particular foods.

In the beginning, feed your infant small serving sizes—even just 1 to 2 small spoonfuls to start.

Within about 2 to 3 months after starting solid foods, your infant should be consuming a daily diet that includes not only breast milk or formula, but also cereal, vegetables, fruits, and meats, divided among 3 meals.

When your infant is about 8 to 9 months old, give her finger foods or table foods that she can pick up and feed to herself. Make sure she’s not putting anything into her mouth that’s large enough to cause choking. Do not give small infants raisins, nuts, popcorn, or small or hard food pieces that can be easily aspirated.

Since this is m second I knew the cues to certain changes and what not. I started Evan on solids at 5 months because he was always hungry after a bottle. I'll step up the consistancy once I see how well he's doing with the smoother more pursed food. I feed him once in the morning with a bottle and then again at night with a bottle. Hope you and baby do well with feedings!

I did it the way eyelashes1012 did. I introduced each stage 1 food for 3 days then moved on to the next one until we tried them all. I was told to start with the carrots then moved on with the other like colored solids then moved on to the squash then the green ones and then next you go to the fruits and do them like the veggies for 3 days each. I believe the reason you do this for the 3 days is to make sure they aren't allergic. You should start with veggies first because if you start with fruits then they will only want the sweet foods.The banana's made him constipated so I don't give him them by themselves anymore. I think he is ready for the stage 2 foods since he is sucking down the stage 1's. He is a good eater and when he is full he stops opening his mouth for more. You will know when he is finished. I wish you the best. I hope this helps and please remember this is what worked for me, you may get better advice that will work for you.

Amber

P.S. get that camera out this will be a great time for pictures once they start those carrots!!!! too cute!!!!!

Though new recommendations are saying you can skip the fruits and veggies until later and actually start them on stage 1 meats. And you don't have to start with cereal, the fruits and veggies are fine to start with. But avoid anything that you have a family history of an allergy until later. We did start oatmeal(its easier to digest IMO) and I only gave them a few bites for about 4 days, we haven't really tried anything else, we're taking it slow. But I'll probably end up buying some fruit or veggie soon to let them eat. DH wants to feed them a tiny bit of mashed potatoes on Christmas.

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Cinda,Wife to Chris, a young mom of three,Chelsea(9/23/6),Ian & Eli(edd 8/25/9 born 6/26/9)

I would suggest getting the book Super Baby Food. I got it used for like $3 on Amazon. It's about making home made baby food, but there is TONS of info in it that has nothing to do with making home made food. It talks about their first meal, the 2nd meal, what to expect and feed over the first few weeks. How often and how much to feed them. What foods they can start eating each month, etc. It has tons of recipes from first foods all the way up to school aged kids. It also has craft and activities to do with the kids too.

We just did her first solids today, she's 6 months today. I started her on avacado. I just sliced one and scooped out about a teaspoon into a bowl. Mixed in a little breast milk and a little water until it was thin enough to poor off of the spoon. Then I put the rest of the avacado into an icecube tray to freeze for later. She'll get that for the next 3 or 4 days. Then I'll start another new food. Not sure what yet.

We skip cereal. We add cereal to veggies and fruit purees. I believe that *some* kids prefer the natural sweetness of fruit to the non-sweetness of veggies. Not all, but some. And because of that we start with green veggies, then move to red/orange then yellow. We then start fruits. We start with darker colors first then more to light.

Our Pedi told us to start rice cereal at 4 months, then to introduce the fruits and vege's slowly. At LO 6 month apt she told us to now start in with the protiens. We are taking things slowly at our own pace, depending on how Ella reacts to it. It took her a while to get used to the Rice cereal, so we just did that for a month ;) Now we do some rice cereal mixed with fruit for breakfast, and a protien for dinner... usually the chicken and apples.. (yuck!) lol